Nov 12, 2014
There’s a fairy tale that they taught you at school
It helped you a lot
... back then
But now,
But now,
this fairy tale is not much use to you!
What WAS this fairy tale?
“There’s a language called English”
“If you learn the grammatical rules,
and the meanings of enough words”
“Then you will be able to communicate perfectly!
For the rest of your life!”
(I’m afraid
it’s not
really
true!)
You see, languages are organic.
You see, languages are organic.
They grow
You see, languages are organic.
They grow
They evolve
You see, languages are organic.
They grow
They evolve
They constantly change
Wanna know the ONLY unchangeable fact
about
communication?
communication
always CHANGES
BECAUSE YOU CANNOT SEPARATE
COMMUNICATION FROM
REALITY
I know what
you’re
thinking!
I know what
you’re
thinking!
But I’m
absolutely
serious
about this!
Want me to prove it?
Where are you?
He’s at
home Einstein!
Where are you?
SUCCESS!
Where
are you?
He’s at
the office Einstein!
Where are you?
SUCCESS!
Got a question?
Why don’t you google it?
Why don’t you google it?
Google (ˈɡuːɡ
ə
l)Part of Speech: verb
Definition: to search for information on the Internet, esp. using the Google search engine
Example: We googled
the address before we came.
Etymology: trademark Google
Usage: googling
noun
Since 1998
And finally, here’s a personal example
Business WritingA 2-Day Management Communication Seminar
January
1997
Business WritingA 2-Day Management Communication Seminar
January
1997
This is an executive training seminar
which I created just 13 years ago.
Guess what type of writing I was teaching?
Business WritingA 2-Day Management Communication Seminar
January
1997
Business WritingA 2-Day Management Communication Seminar
December
2010
Business WritingA 2-Day Management Communication Seminar
December
2010
This is an executive training seminar
which I teach today.
Guess what type of writing I was teaching?
Business WritingA 2-Day Management Communication Seminar
December
2010
Business WritingA 2-Day Management Communication Seminar
December
2010
Mind Reading
Just kidding ☺
Business WritingA 2-Day Management Communication Seminar
December
2010
So why should
you care?
You should care, because the way
we need to successfully
communicate in business writing
has TOTALLY changed�
Here’s an example from my 1997
Business Writing seminar
Here’s an example from my 1997
Business Writing seminar
“Might I enquire as to whether you would be able to transmit the
information to me within a week?”
Here’s an example from my 1997
Business Writing seminar
“Might I enquire as to whether you would be able to transmit the
information to me within a week?”
How would that sound in
an email today?
Dude, that sounds like something out of Jane Austen, right?
So that fairy tale they taught you at school
Those words?
Those words?
Those sentence forms?
Those words?
Those sentence forms?
Those writing rules?
Most of them are
now extinct!
BECAUSE YOU CANNOT SEPARATE
COMMUNICATION FROM
REALITY
Formality is no longer the KING of business writing
Email has changed business writing dramatically
... and permanently
We’ve got NEWER and BIGGER
problems to deal with now
And a true email master needs to deal with the reality of today’s business writing
Being seen
in the everyday mountain of emails
How many emails are sent every day?
How many emails are sent every day?
200 billion
Receiving the action
you requested
Getting your goals
And what if you stick with the old ways
you learnt at school?
Then YOU may just be
risking professional extinction!
Andy Kovacs
Managing Director ELC Owner
An expert linguist from University of London with over 14-years experience in management communication in the banking and finance sectors.
Interested in intercultural communication competence, universal politeness theory and the impact of new technology on training and communication.
Responsible for creating and managing all of ELC’s training and consultancy projects.
e:
w: www.elc.com.tr
t:
0216 467 5460
Linkedin: www.linkedin.comAndy Kovacs
Twitter:www.twitter.com@AndyatELC
SlideShare:http://www.slideshare.netELC Consultants